Wage growth in Mass. outpaced nation in second quarter

Weekly wages in Massachusetts rose nearly 5 percent in the second quarter of 2007 from a year earlier, slightly above the national average, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The state's average weekly wage of $1,008 ranked fourth nationally, behind Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and New York.

Among other New England states, Connecticut's average weekly wages rose 6.4 percent to $1,033; New Hampshire's rose 6.3 percent to $823; Vermont, 5 percent to $698; Maine, 4.1 percent to $658; and Rhode Island, 2.5 percent to $722. Nationally, weekly wages rose 4.6 percent to $820.

In Massachusetts, wages grew fastest in Middlesex County, rising 6 percent to $1,179 in the three month period from April to June compared to a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Suffolk County had that state's highest average weekly wage at $1,284, up 4.7 percent. Among the state's most populous counties, average week wages and year-over-year growth in the second quarter were: Norfolk, $986, up 1.2 percent; Essex, $879, up 4.5 percent; Worcester, $843, up 3.7 percent; Plymouth, $803, up 3.6 percent; Bristol, $758, up 3.7; Hampden, $748, up 3.7 percent; and Barnstable, $708, up 3.7 percent.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)